New Comics!: The "Fear Itself" Edition

Fear Itself #7:  OK, so, first:  The other day, I was going through my collection and ran across the recent "Avengers" issues where they fight the Hood after he steals the Infinity Gems.  I found myself instantly thinking, "Um, wouldn't now be a good time to go get them?"  "Siege" was such a great event because it built on years of story lines, such as "Civil War," "Secret Invasion," etc.  As such, it had a plot that didn't feel manufactured just for the event.  Everyone had watched Norman Osborn consolidate his power over a period of years.  We didn't just suddenly find him in charge of U.S. security.  Moreover, the ending of the event made sense.  The Sentry died and Norman Osborn went to jail.  The death of the Sentry felt pretty permanent, since he was a minor enough character to merit a long-lasting death.  Although you knew Norman would eventually free himself from jail, he at least was going to have to spend some time there cooling his jets.  The problem with the Infinity Gems story and "Fear Itself," however, is that they're random, discrete events that come and go.  As such, when you're reading the latest iteration of this sort of story, it's incredibly frustrating that the previous ones seemingly didn't happen.  Why didn't Cap say, "Hey, Tony, didn't we have the power to control reality a few months ago?"  The answer is that, unlike "Siege," "Fear Itself" doesn't build off previous events, so it's like the Inifinity Gems story never happened.  As such, when I saw the Infinity Gems issues, it was just a reminder of why this mini-series fell totally flat.  Despite assurances to the contrary, it was all meant to be temporary.

Turning to the issue at hand, as "Fear Itself" issues go, this one actually isn't bad.  It had some really great moments, like Cap picking up Thor's hammer, which even my Fraction-hating self had to admit was pretty cool, and an amped-up Widow screaming "Who's next?!"  I thought it was clever that the weapons Tony created went to eight Avengers, creating his own Worthy to combat the Serpent's.  (How bad-ass did Spidey look?)  I also liked how Odin banned the gods from Asgard, creating his own private memorial in which he alone will dwell.  The story ended as Fraction essentially told us it was going to end, with Thor sacrificing his life to stop the Serpent.  End scene.

This series, as we all understood it, was about tying together Captain America and Thor to take advantage of interest in the comics that came from their movies this summer.  So, Marvel does that by killing them?  As I expected would happen after the events of issue #3, I ended this series wondering how quickly it will all be retconned.  How long before artists stop drawing the crack in Cap's shield?  (It doesn't appear in his new series, which we're lead to believe happens after "Fear Itself.")  We already don't see anyone referring to a destroyed New York, Las Vegas, Paris, or Washington in the series that have moved past "Fear Itself."  (Manhattan doesn't suddenly go boom in the middle of "Spider-Island.")  How long before Thor (and hopefully Bucky) is resurrected?  How long before the various series Marvel is launching in the wake of "Fear Itself" are canceled?  I'm pretty sure that Sin will quickly get over her desire to dominate the Universe, because, unless she's going to gain the power of the Worthy again, it's not like she's all that powerful.  After "The Fearless," she's probably just going to be Sin again, with an occasional passing reference to her former deity-hood.

In other words, how long before this series is as meaningless as Fraction promised us it wouldn't be?  To my mind, at the end of the day, it was a colossal failure of imagination compounded by a marketing department run completely wild.  It hijacked almost every Marvel series I read and not a single one was better for it.  The fact that they're giving us three epilogues AND a maxi-series?  Unbelievable, actually.  Please, please Marvel, give us at least two or three years before you try doing so again.

Fear Itself:  The Home Front #7:  OK, I've been pretty down on the latest installments of this series, but this one isn't too bad.  Gage pulls out a decent ending to the Speedball story.  I actually got a little misty eyed over the conversation he had with Meredith, given that it seems to put the events of Stamford (the first time) firmly behind him.  The "Citizens of Broxton, OK" story was also good.  I had already read the adventures of, "Rick.  Just Rick." in "Fear Itself" #7 and found it to be one of the few moments of actual emotion in the entire series.  I enjoyed seeing a little more what went into his thought process here.  The faux Young Avengers story and the "Another Moment With..." story were as terrible as they've always been, but at least we get two decent stories in this issue (possibly for the first time). 

Fear Itself:  Youth in Revolt #6:  This title was one of the better "Fear Itself" tie-in series, particularly among the series created just for the event.  I liked how McKeever showed a group of ambivalent and/or wounded young heroes struggling with their insecurities and troubles to try to help people.  McKeever also made them make real decisions in the face of tough challenges, rather than giving them some easy way to resolve their immediate problems (such as Hardball having to take lives in Vegas to save the city and Prodigy having to allow Thor Girl to be arrested in order to quiet the mobs).  However, this issue unfortunately undoes some of that good work.

Throughout the series, I was confused why exactly the authorities tortured Thor Girl when she was in their custody.  McKeever seemed to be hinting at some larger plot where aspects of the government were supporting the Serpent (or using the chaos he was causing to advance their own secret agenda).  However, he never really went anywhere with that plot.  In the end, it wound up being a relevant point, because this whole issue turns on how Thor Girl holds Prodigy personally responsible for her imprisonment and, in her effort to get vengeance, winds up taking on the assembled superheroes.  McKeever portrays Thor Girl as almost completely irrational here, so it's hard to exactly feel sympathetic for her, even if understood what she was saying when she was saying it.  He also uses her departure as the deus ex machina needed to save the heroes stuck underground.  It's unfortunate, because it detracts from the sense he had built for most of the series that actions would have consequences.  Similarly, we see Hardball face no real repercussions for killing people in Vegas; in fact, McKeever seems to back away a bit form that event, having Hardball comment that few people died.  Conversely, Prodigy, who always seemed the coolest character of the bunch, gets pretty summarily dismissed, despite his efforts to hold the line during the entire conflict.

It's an unfortunate weak ending to a good mini-series I thought held a lot of promise and would serve as a staging ground for some of the more promising characters.  I'll keep my eyes open for them the next few months, because I don't want this series to fade into the background like the rest of "Fear Itself" will.

New Comics: The "Fear Itself" Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Avengers #17:  OK, this issue is a hot mess.  I honestly don't know where to start.  The good?  I guess the best part of this issue is that I can almost see the bright light at the end of the dark "Fear Itself" tunnel.  The bad?  Tough to say.

Bendis seems to totally abandon any attempt to put this particular story into the context of the larger events we're seeing happen in the main "Fear Itself" title as well as the secondary series.  Let's break it down a bit:

Just like in "Avengers" #16 (see that review for more details), we see the Avengers in this issue dealing with an event (the fall of Avengers Tower) months after it initially happened ("Avengers" #14).  The Tower presumably fell after "Fear Itself" #3, since it's in that issue where the Thing becomes a member of the Worthy, and he's the one who takes down the Tower.  Although it makes sense that Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel, the Protector, and Spider-Woman would be behind everyone else in seeing the destruction of the Tower (since they were in Brazil fighting the Hulk in "Fear Itself" #3 and "Avengers" #15), this issue still would have had to happened before "Fear Itself" #4, since they are seen having already reconnected with the Avengers and New Avengers in New York in that issue.  So, it seems, for the events of "Fear Itself" #4 to make sense, that "Avengers" #14-#17 all happened between "Fear Itself" #3 and #4.  The Tower falls ("Avengers" #14), half the Avengers fight the Hulk ("Fear Itself" #3 and "Avengers" #15), Cap tries to take out Sin ("Avengers" #16), everyone regroups in New York ("Avengers" #17 and "Fear Itself" #4), and the Avengers battle the Serpent and Sin in New York ("Fear Itself" #5).  Makes sense.

The problem is that it clearly doesn't.  As mentioned above, Sin and the Serpent fought Captain America and the Avengers (including the Brazil crew mentioned here) in New York in "Fear Itself" #5 and then left the city to make their way to Asgard in Broxton, Oklahoma.  In fact, Sin is standing next to the Serpent at the end of "Fear Itself" #6 when he arrives in Broxton.  However, in this issue, Sin randomly appears to make her way to Heimdall's Observatory (formerly located in the Tower) to enter Asgard.  So, how does that work?  Is Bendis implying that she entered the Observatory to enter Asgard somewhere between "Fear Itself" #3 and #4, when this issue would in theory take place, only to reappear in "Fear Itself" #5 to fight Cap and the Avengers, with no mention made of her time in Asgard?  That seems to be the only explanation to make sense.

However, I think it's actually Bendis showing the Serpent call all his Worthy to him as he approaches Broxton.  (He does the same with the Juggernaut in "Uncanny X-Men" #543.)  However, that would be placing this issue after "Fear Itself" #6.  Plus, Sin is with the Serpent at the end of that issue.  So, what happens?  Sin leaves the Serpent, travels to New York, and enters Asgard through the Observatory?  That could make sense (depending on the events of "Fear Itself" #7)...except for the fact that we've firmly established that this issue happens between "Fear Itself" #3 and #4.  It wouldn't make sense for this issue to happen after "Fear Itself" #6, because it would mean the Brazil crew were both in New York to witness the devastation in this issue AND in Oklahoma with Cap in "Fear Itself" #6.  (Maybe they all suddenly developed Wolverine's ability to be in two places at once.)  In other words, it can't happen both between issues #3 and #4 AND between #6 and #7.  So, either it happens between issues #3 and #4 and Sin's entry through the Observatory into Asgard is an error, or it happens between issues #6 and #7 and Bendis' depiction of Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel, Protector, and Spider-Woman just arriving in New York is an error.  But, it's definitely one or the other.

I know it seems nit-picky, but, as I said in my review of "Avengers" #16, I find this lack of attention to detail distracting because it complicates the motivations of characters.  For example, in this issue, everyone is mad about the Tower falling, whereas, in the main title, they already moved past that event months ago and are focused on new threats.  It would've been nice to see this anger before "Fear Itself" #4, so that you can understand their mindset in that issue and "Fear Itself" #5.  I think it's part of what has made "Fear Itself" feel so hollow, since the emotional aspects of the events have been sub-contracted to the tie-in series, which don't address them until months after they happen.  These sequencing questions really make me wonder if Marvel put an overall editor in charge of "Fear Itself."  My guess is no.  It seems pretty clear that the authors of the tie-ins just got short snippets about the larger plot of the main title and had to more or less insert their individual stories into where they thought they'd fit into the larger arc.  The problem is that you can't have a book like "Avengers" be SO poorly synced to the main title.  They're THE AVENGERS.  They play a pretty significant role in this series.  If I, a fan, can tell the sequencing of their appearances are so poorly synced with the rest of the series, how can some editor not tell?

Moreover, if I'm getting really nit-picky, in true pet peeve #1 fashion, despite what the cover depicts, Hawkeye and Spider-Woman do not/not get busy while New York burns in this issue.  Also, someone needs to tell Bendis and JR JR that Spidey lost his Spider-Sense, which seems to have magically re-appeared here.

I've said it before and I'll, unfortunately, say it again:  this event needs to END.

Fear Itself:  The Home Front #6:  This issue is, perhaps, the worst issue of any comic book I've ever read.  I'm tired of trying to give it credit for the Speedball story.  Gage is actually just telling the same story he initially told.  It's like I'm in "Groundhog's Day."  All four stories in this issue suck, one worst than the other.  I mean that literally, too.  Each story just gets worse than the other.  I STILL can't believe I'm buying this series.

Fear Itself:  Youth in Revolt #5:  I've liked this series for most of its run, but this issue is pretty grim.  It's hard to be overly sympathetic to any of the characters, even though I think McKeever is, unlike all the other authors, accurately showing what it would look like when a bunch of completely exhausted superheroes are finally pushed over the edge and begin tearing each other apart.  I'm hoping someone gets a redeeming moment in the final issue, and I'm intrigued what's going to happen with these characters after the series wraps up its run.

New Mutants #31:  We begin this issue with Dani trapped inside one of the undead gods, something that apparently happened last issue but I don't exactly remember.  At any rate, the undead god in which she finds herself engages in battle with the New Mutants, and her new crow friend helps her realize that her teammates are right...um...outside, as it were.  Dani claws her way out the undead god's mouth, though I'm not exactly sure how she managed that, since she was having trouble figuring out an escape plan before she was inspired by the arrival of her teammates.  At any rate, the issue was pretty fun, particularly with its somewhat shocking ending, Hela hanging on a pike.  I also found the undead god's memories of Odin's confrontation with the Serpent interesting, particularly because I haven't seen anything about their confrontation before.  (I'm assuming the Thor series are covering that.)  The New Muties defending Hela's castle against the undead gods should be a pretty good story next issue.

Uncanny X-Men #543:  It's hard to read this issue and not think that this story is exactly the type of story we all expected to read when we heard of "Fear Itself."  I mean, everything falls apart here, because the "good guys" are forced into morally compromised positions to fend off the "bad guys."  I loved Kitty's speech to Colossus, about how he's always ready to die for her but she needs someone who's ready to live for her.  OMG, yes.  I've been waiting for her to get there for YEARS.  Although I was initially optimistic after the Breakworld arc that we would finally get a happy Kitty and Peter, I'm perfectly happy not to get one if it means that Kitty finally puts down her foot when it comes to Peter always sacrificing himself.  Kitty and Peter being happy presumed that he'd stop throwing himself in front of the bus.  If he can't do that, it's time for them to end, and I really applaud Gillen for being, like, the only X-book author ever to draw that conclusion.  Moreover, I like the Scott we get here, by which I mean I don't like Scott here, but I like Gillen's portrayal of him.  First, Land does an amazing job of showing Scott's confusion when he sees Colossus.  It's one of the few moments where I've ever seen the modern Scott Summers actually show a moment of conflict, a moment of wondering whether he made the right choice.  Second, his conversation with Sadie is disturbing.  Given that this issue happens along the backdrop of "X-Men:  Schism," it fits with the scary Scott we've seen lately.  Gillen uses both these instances to show a Scott who isn't quite the person he thinks (or hopes) he is.  Looking at this arc, I can say, with certainty, that Gillen is the only author who really took "Fear Itself" and made it his own, using its premise to further his characters while at the same time telling a story that made sense in context of the event.  Well done, Kieron.  Well done.

New Comics!: The "Fear Itself" Edition

Before I start, I have to say that the tie-in issues reviewed here don't really do all that much to further the main "Fear Itself" plot.  The "Avengers" tie-in issue finally shows the team reacting to the death of Bucky, but does so months after it's been resolved (or, at least, moved past) in the main title.  The "Fear Itself:  Youth in Revolt," "New Mutants," and "Uncanny X-Men" issues are well-written stories, but they're still dealing with a small aspect of "Fear Itself," namely the Juggernaut's march across America and its consequences.  In fact, I actually can't remember if the Juggernaut has even appeared in the main title, or if he's just been entirely shunted to "Fear Itself:  Youth in Revolt" and "Uncanny X-Men."  I think it's pretty clear if you've been reading this blog a while that I'm not a fan of "Fear Itself," but, at this point, I'd really just like my regular titles back, particularly given the increasingly tenuous connection they have to "Fear Itself." 

Avengers #16:  Looking at the issue itself, I mostly enjoyed it.  We finally -- FINALLY! -- see the Avengers and Steve Rogers mourn the loss of Bucky Barnes.  (Seriously, how has it taken so long?)  Steve decides to take on Sin to exact his revenge and takes Sharon Carter, Victoria Hand, and Maria Hill with him.  I thought the decision (and justification) to take Sharon, Victoria, and Maria was really well done, with Steve reasoning that diverting a superhero from the ongoing battles would raise Sin's attention.  Moreover, I thought Bendis did a great job of using Maria Hill as the lens through which we viewed the action.  Throughout the mission, it's clear that the team is being driven by their emotions and grief.  They fall into Sin's trap because they are seriously off their game, despite not being "off their game" kind of people.  Bendis uses the ever-competent Maria Hill to great effect here, since, if even Maria Hill is off her game, you know Steve must be beside himself.  Moreover, the fact that both Victoria and Sharon kill people in this issue adds to this sense that emotions are driving their actions and, as Cap is confronting Master Man, Bendis raises the possibility that he, too, may snap. 

Unfortunately, Bendis decides to introduce a deus ex machina here, preventing us from seeing whether Steve is driven to murder.  Instead, we get some character I've only maybe seen once arriving and taking down the whole castle by using her earthquake powers.  I mean, WTF?  We're just getting to the interesting part -- the great moral dilemma -- and some D-list character suddenly appears and ends it with her "earthquake powers?"  Did the fight really have to end?  I mean, if Master Man is so strong, why is he knocked unconscious but everyone else is fine?  Bendis then continues the dive by giving us Steve randomly wandering around the ruins screaming "SIN!" like he's Marlon Brando.  He also abruptly leaves his post-game recap interview mid-sentence, saying simply, "I'm so sorry, Bucky."  Given that that comment is likely to be the last thing we ever see Steve say about Bucky, who I'm assuming is going into the Memory Hole after this series, it's a serious, serious letdown.  These bizarre last few pages really dragged down the book for me.

Also bad?  The art.  I actually like JR JR, but he's awful here.  I mean, half the time, I had no idea who anyone was.  It's like he drew the issue in five minutes and left it to the inker and colorist to flesh out the details.

All that said, I had enjoyed most of the issue until it took its bizarre turn, so it wasn't a total loss.  The real problem I had with this issue, though, had less to do with it and more to do with "Fear Itself."  One of the problems I'm having with "Fear Itself" is that the issues that flesh out the motivations of the characters seem to be appearing at least a month late.  I mean, Bucky was killed in "Fear Itself" #3 and his death is addressed in "Fear Itself" #4 and #5.  But, we're just seeing the Avengers and Steve grapple with his death here.  We needed to see that BEFORE issue #5, so we could've gotten a sense of the desperation that essentially leads them to give up the battle in the climatic scene in that issue.  I'm assuming that the events of this issue happen between "Fear Itself" #3 and #4.  After all, Steve faces Sin in "Fear Itself" #5.  Knowing that, it does make Steve occasionally seem crazy here, until you remind yourself that this issue clearly happened before "Fear Itself" #5 (not that anyone tells you that in the book).  It's just yet another reason why this entire ordeal of "Fear Itself" needs to end.

Fear Itself:  The Home Front #5:  This issue continues the pattern of this series, with the Speedball story being moralizingly annoying, the second story giving us minor characters in a forgettable story with a vague plot, a totally bizarre "Moment with...," and a final story with even more minor characters in an even more forgettable story with a nonsensical plot.  I still can't believe I'm spending $3.99 on these issues.

Fear Itself:  Youth in Revolt #4:  McKeever continues to do a good job on this series.  We see the heroes involved in this story have a complete and total meltdown.  Prodigy is snapping under the strains of commanding a losing battle while Gravity takes out his rage at the situation (and, clearly, his guilt for abandoning the battle) on Hardball.  McKeever gives us a cliffhanger, with Gravity implying that he becomes a murderer, though we don't know if it's because of his accidental strike on Komodo or the earthquake he and Hardball cause due to their fight.  But it's not the cliffhanger that will make me come back next issue; it's the tale McKeever is telling.  He continues to tell a compelling story about the pressures a group of C- and D-list superheroes face trying to do the right thing when all seems lost.  Moreover, McKeever excels at raising questions about what exactly constitutes "the right thing."  The attempts by the rest of the cast -- Cloud 9, Komodo, Rage, Thor Girl -- to save the innocent civilians while Gravity and Hardball go to war on each other is a great display of heroism.  You come to expect that sort of heroism on the part of your superheroes, but McKeever reminds us how special it is.  I hope he's given a series with these characters after "Fear Itself" ends, because I'd love to see the stories he could tell without "Fear Itself" hanging around his next.

New Mutants #30:  This issue is OK.  It sucks that DnA got forcibly sidetracked by "Fear Itself," because I'm much more interested in reading stories about Dani and her team serving as the X-Men's loose-end tie-up-er-ers.  I'm not entirely sure who, exactly, Dani is fighting at the end, other than the fact that they're some sort of nightmare entities re-animated thanks to the Serpent's return.  Meanwhile, the rest of the gang is in Hell ("two 'L's") trying to avoid negotiating with Mephisto, who, in the end, convinces Amara to go on a date with him in exchange for sending them to Hel (one "L").  For the last 30 issues, the various authors on this title have done little more than address, in passing, the fact that Bobby suddenly finds himself in love with Amara, so I'm actually hoping that Amara going on a date with the Devil (presumably after "Fear Itself" ends) will finally bring some sort of action to this long-simmering sub-plot.  Compared to other "Fear Itself" tie-in issues, this one is pretty good.  Compared to DnA's usual issues, it's mildly disappointing.

Uncanny X-Men #542:  Like he does in "Generation Hope" #10, Gillen give us a two-for-one deal here, moving forward existing sub-plots while at the same time furthering the "Fear Itself" plot.  First, "Fear Itself:"  Gillen delivers one of the better tie-in issues I've read.  So far, as previously mentioned, these tie-in issues haven't really forwarded the main plot of "Fear Itself" too much.  This issue doesn't exactly do so either, but it does give us the best story related to "Fear Itself."  By focusing on the Juggernaut over the last few issues, Gillen has been able to let the fear of his impending arrival grow.  Whereas all the other books seem to be just bounding from event to event, reducing the possibility of the stories having any sort of emotional impact, Gillen shows the X-Men throwing everything they have at the problem and still not stopping the Juggernaut.  (Contrast their efforts here to the Avengers surrendering after three panels of action in "Fear Itself" #5 and you'll see what I mean.)  It actually felt like Cyclops was playing a video game, trying to match combos to see which one could defeat the boss.  By giving us these scenes, Gillen manages to convey the sense of desperation and fear that we're supposed to be seeing everywhere else, but aren't.  Looking at the ongoing stories he furthers here, we see Emma coming to the conclusion to which I allude in my "Generation Hope" #10 review, which is that Hope Summers is a lot more tied to the Summers/Grey family and the Phoenix Force than she or anyone else (other than Emma) is aware.  It seems pretty apparent that it's the fear infesting everything as a result of the return of the Serpent that brings Emma to this conclusion (even if it turns out being correct), which just goes to show how well Gillen does integrating "Fear Itself" with ongoing "Uncanny" plots.  Finally, we see Colossus take one on the chin, possibly sacrificing his soul to save Illyana.  I had asked, at the end of the Breakworld saga, for Kitty and Peter to have some time to just be in love.  It looks like we may not get that.  Gillen hints here that Illyana might not be as reformed as we thought, since she lifts nary a finger to save Peter.  All in all, Gillen delivers possibly the best "Fear Itself" tie-in issue I've read.  Between the upcoming Emma/Hope and Colossus/Juggernaut battles, I really can't wait until next issue.  (Also:  Adam X?  Whoa.)

New Comics!: The "Fear Itself" Mega-Edition

OK, so, as you can see here, I've decided to focus my immediate post-vacation reading on the multitude of "Fear Itself" issues.  At this point -- four issues into the main series -- I think I can safely say that this cross-over event is rapidly approaching "epic fail" for me.  As I detail below, Fraction seems to be almost incapable of conveying emotions.  His writing isn't exactly wooden, but it often feels much more focused on moving forward a specific plot than expressing the emotional impact of said plot on the main characters.  Given that the core conceit of the whole affair -- how fear affects us -- is all about emotion, this failure to make the reader, you know, feel anything is, well, a problem.  On top of that, so much is happening in the side issues -- such as the apparent death of everyone in Paris, just to start -- that it's almost impossible to tell what the central story actually is.  For example, the Initiative was fighting Juggernaut in Las Vegas in "Fear Itself:  Youth in Revolt," while the X-Men were fighting him in San Francisco in "Uncanny X-Men."  I know that sounds excessively nit-picky, but, to me, it raises the question of why I should be paying the attention Marvel wants me to pay to this event if its editors can't even muster the energy to do so.  Essentially, unlike "Civil War" or "Blackest Night," this event so far is pretty clearly just a poor attempt by Marvel to make some money, as opposed to telling an interesting story or change its creative setting.  Sad, but true.

Avengers #15:  Bendis continues to structure the Avengers' "Fear Itself" cross-over issues as part of the "oral history of the Avengers" that he had been including at the back of "Avengers" and "New Avengers" before "Fear Itself" began.  It worked spectacularly well when he first used it in "Avengers" #13 and continues to do so here.  This story focuses on Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel, the Protector, and Spider-Woman trying to stop the Hulk's rampage in Brazil.  Bendis does two things here that made me wish -- for all my griping about him -- he was penning "Fear Itself."  First, he manages to make the issue about the characters, not just advancing the overall "Fear Itself" plot but the "Avengers" plot as well.  One of my main complaints about his run so far on "Avengers" has been that the cosmic nature of the crises they've faced has meant that the "street-level" heroes -- namely, Hawkeye, Spider-Man, and Spider-Woman -- have been largely ignored.  Over the last few issues, he's done a great job of reversing that trend, giving us some great Hawkeye/Spider-Woman moments, for example.  This issue is no different; in fact, it's a detailed character study on Spider-Woman.  By using her as the lens through which we see the team's confrontation with the Hulk, Bendis gives us an amazing amount of insight into her character while at the same time telling a story that isn't just one long, mindless fight scene (as most of "Fear Itself" has been).  Second, he remembers where his people are.  It would've really, really stretched belief if Peter was fighting crowds in "Fear Itself:  Spider-Man," the New York invasion in "Fear Itself," and the Hulk in Brazil.  Bendis sends in four characters that haven't played a role elsewhere, making sure that the story (unlike many of the other cross-overs) doesn't contradict anything happening in other stories.  Moreover, it's just a damn good story.  He gives us a redemption arc for Spider-Woman that doesn't fall back on tired tropes or unbelievable outcomes.  Some writers would've had Spider-Woman defeat the Hulk; Bendis has her hold him off long enough so others can get in the game and she can save a school full of children.  Totally believable, totally redeemable.  Bendis is really doing a great job on these "Fear Itself" cross-overs.  Imagine what he could've done with the main title?

Fear Itself #4:  OK, so, I'm going to ignore the killing of Bucky for the moment so I can focus on the positive aspects of this book.  Fraction finally manages to resolve two dangling plot points by clarifying that the goal of the Worthy is indeed to spread fear so that the Serpent can re-power himself (he hadn't explicitly made that connection before) and revealing that the Serpent is the brother of Odin, who (allegedly) usurped his position as king of Asgard.  We also learn that a prophecy exists (I'm assuming it was revealed in one of the "Thor" cross-overs) that predicts that Thor will defeat the Serpent by sacrificing his own life.  Moreover, we finally see our heroes doing something rather than just watching the carnage unfold on giant television screens:  Captain America has joined the Avengers' fight for New York, Iron Man is trying to convince Odin to help him create anti-Serpent tech, and Thor is taking on the Worth-ified Hulk and Thing in his push to get to the Serpent.  Progress!

The bad news, of course, is that none of Fraction's efforts here to advance the plot matter, because they're overshadowed by how spectacularly badly he fucks up Bucky's death.  First, we do actually get confirmation here that Bucky is, in fact, dead.  His death -- particularly how meaningless it was, resulting in nothing more than putting Steve Rogers back in the Captain America uniform -- alone would be sufficiently rage-inducing to make me hate this series, despite Fraction's efforts in this issue to right the ship.  (See my post on "Fear Itself" #3 to get a sense of my, um, opinion on this front.)  But, Fraction makes it worse here by keeping all reactions to Bucky's death off-panel.  We get a comment by Nick Fury about him deserving better and then Natasha crying on Nick's shoulder in the background while the menfolk talk.  That's it.  We don't even get a reaction from Steve, who just straps on the Captain America suit and heads into war as if it were a normal Tuesday.  In fact, Natasha herself starts the issue just sort of standing next to the body like it was just some guy and not, you know, her boyfriend.  In Nick's words, Bucky deserved better.

Moreover, Steve's reappearance as Captain America leading the Avengers is barely even mentioned, like he's just returning from a short trip to a B&B in Vermont for some R&R with Sharon.  Given that Bucky-Cap was tight with the New Avengers, you'd think someone would've at least asked, "Hey, where's Bucky?  Is he still in the gulag?"  (As I mentioned in my post on "Fear Itself" #3, let's all take a moment to mourn the potentially kick-ass series Marvel seemed to be establishing for Bucky in the last few issues of "Captain America," with Bucky going all Cold Warrior and planning to atone for his Winter Soldier crimes.  [Sigh.])

To sum up my outrage, Fraction seriously, seriously fucks up the transition from Bucky to Steve here, both in giving Bucky a meaningless death and Steve a lackluster return.  The fact that he can't even convey any sense of emotion over Bucky's death makes me wonder how Marvel could've entrusted this big of an event to him.   The ho-hum nature of Bucky's death and Steve's return completely overshadows any good "Fear Itself" could ever achieve.  It appears nothing more than to be a cheap stunt to fluff the ego of a bad writer.  I can't believe I'm still spending money on it.

Fear Itself:  The Home Front #4:  This title just continues to get worst.  The Speedball story is...odd.  Speedball seemingly defeats Attuma in St. John's, only to have him return and destroy the city with an enormous tidal wave.  I think Gage is trying to show how bad things are, giving people hope (Speedball initially defeating Attuma) but then destroying it (Attuma ulitmately obliterating St. John's).  The problem, though, is the problem of the larger "Fear Itself" storyline, which is that so many cities are being wantonly destroyed (Paris, Washington, etc.) that it's getting hard to feel any sort of emotion as it happens.  The Jimmy Woo story was just awful.  Jimmy could have saved the world but decided not do so, which makes him a hero?  Wait, what?  Finally, to be brutally honest, the Blue Marvel story is maybe the worst comic-book story I've ever read.  It's just...moronic.  I'm hoping the Jimmy Woo story will be replaced by something better, but I seriously doubt it will be, the way this whole sad, sorry affair is going.

Fear Itself:  Spider-Man #3:  OK, so Yost kind of loses it here.  (I promise I like SOME issues in this review.  Keep reading.)  First, the last two issues of this mini-series managed to convey Peter's attempts to fight off "the fear" and rescue people without going too far and making Peter seemed like a scared newbie trying to keep himself together.  Yost unfortunately goes too much in that direction here, with Peter giving us a running narrative on how he's lost hope, yadda yadda yadda.  (Guess what?  He's inspired by the actions of a "regular" person and finds the strength to defeat the bad guy.  I know.  Shocking!  I never would've expected it.)  To be fair, I'm a little harder here on Yost than I probably have to be.  The problem with all the "Fear Itself" books is that (until "Fear Itself" #4), they've done a poor job really explaining "the fear" that everyone is experiencing.  Yost has actually done the best job of that, so I feel like I'm punishing him for being the only one trying to flesh out the concept.  So, I'll give him a pass personally, even if I found that his addressing of the issue used really tired plot twists.  Second, it seemed WAY too convenient that everything got nicely wrapped in a bow for us in the end.  I mean, I'm not saying everyone had to die, but, really, EVERYONE was OK?  Really?  Finally, my problem with this mini-series has been that it's a bit of a throwback to the days before Spidey was on every New York-based superhero team.  Often, during these big cross-over events, Peter would save the regular people while the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and X-Men fought the big bad.  Given that Peter's now on both Avengers teams and in the FF, it does make you raise an eyebrow, wondering how he's involved in those teams' responses to the crisis while at the same time saving regular people he encounters on the street.   More than anything, it's the last part that made me feel like a sucker for shelling over $8.97 for these three issues, when I could see Peter fighting the big bad in the main title or the Avengers titles.  (Also, on a total side note, I was annoyed when Ben spoke that weird "Worthy" speak, because we've established in other series that he actually has retained his ability to speak normally.)

Fear Itself:  Youth in Revolt #3:  This title continues to be the best of the bunch.  It does the best job, to my mind, in conveying the magnitude of what Fraction is trying to convey in "Fear Itself."  McKeever shows us how often-reluctant C- and D-List heroes put their lives on the line just to try to slow the advance of Sin and the Worthy.  They know their efforts aren't going to be enough to stop them, but instead just hope to buy the more super-powered heroes time.  This approach lends itself to heroics like we see on the part of Hardball, who appears to sacrifice himself to buy people time to escape the Juggerneaut.  The only real drawback to this series is that it's hard to keep all the characters straight.  I vaguely remember Hardball from the first two issues of this series, but I can't remember if I liked him or not.  So, his sacrifice, though heroic, doesn't exactly have the same impact as, say, Bucky-Cap's.  Regardless, McKeever is doing a better job than almost anyone out there putting his finger on the pulse of "Fear Itself,"and I applaud him for it.  This series is the only one worth reading, to my mind.

New Avengers #14:  Bendis again uses the "oral history of the Avengers" format, using Mockingbird as our lens here as he did with Spider-Woman in "Avengers" #15.  The device works well, bridging us from the previous arc in which Mockingbird received a combination of the Super-Soldier Serum and Infinity Formula and the events of "Fear Itself."  As in "Avengers" #15, Bendis does a great job of keeping track of everyone; the Avengers who were in Brazil aren't the Avengers who are in New York.  He also ties the events of this issue to "Avengers" #14, as we watch Avengers Tower fall from Mockingbird's perspective.  I'm not sure what to say about the other major event of this issue, which is Spider-Man's apparent resignation from the team in protest of Victoria Hand's continued presence.  Bendis is keeping that sub-plot on a steady burn, and he manages to give us some action without revealing his hand.  (It reminds me of the very well done "Tracer Killer" storyline in "Amazing Spider-Man" during "Brand New Day.")  I actually like Spidey best on this team, given his familiar ties to each of his teammates (as opposed to the main title's team, where he functions more or less as the provider of one-liners and nothing more), so I'd be sad to see him go.  But, my guess is that whatever Wolverine and Luke tell him after his outburst manages to keep him on the team.  Bendis isn't going to tell us Victoria's true motivations any time soon, so we'll see how he continues to build the suspense.

Uncanny X-Men #540:  OK, this issue is a "Fear Itself" tie-in pretty much in name only.  We see the Serpent-possessed Juggernaut get himself an acolyte as he marches toward the X-Men in San Francisco while Cyclops and Mayor Sadie try to reason out why San Francisco has so far been spared the "Fear Itself" trauma that other cities are facing.  But, nothing else really...happens on the "Fear Itself" side of the house.  To be honest, the other sub-plot in this issue, involving Magik's imprisonment, is also short on action.  Peter goes to visit Illyana, who Cyclops has had imprisoned for setting Legion free to destroy the Elder Gods (over in "New Mutants'" "Rise/Fall of the New Mutants" arc).  Gillen wraps up a loose end from that storyline by clarifying that Illyana's soul has not been fully restored.  Otherwise, Gillen doesn't really do anything with this sub-plot; he seems to be setting the stage for a later story.  (He might actually want to look to Bendis for help on this front, given that Bendis does something similar -- adroitly present drama without resolution -- with the ongoing Victoria Hand plot.)  I'm not entirely sure what the connection between the two stories is, other than the possibility that Magik will be involved in Juggernaut's eventually defeat.  We shall see.

Uncanny X-Men #541:  This issue feels exactly like what it is:  a cross-over event installment forced on Kieron Gillen by Marvel's management.  Unlike last issue, this issue does directly address "Fear Itself," and you can pretty much sense Gillen's resistance here.  Normally, I think he could've given us an interesting riff on the Juggernaut, given what he did with the Breakworlders in the last arc.  Instead, we get a pretty straight-forward Juggernaut story, with the heavy hitters trying to pry off Juggy's helmet so Emma can whop him telepathically.  Gillen does gives us a twist:  the Serpent's powers appear to make Juggy's immune to telepathic attacks.  In fact, he (or the Serpent) possesses Emma when she tries to take control of his mind.  The issue has some nice moments, such as Kitty saving Magneto (who doesn't quite get that a mystic hammer might not be made of ordinary metal), but otherwise it's pretty much just getting the job done.

New Comics!: The Avengers Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Avengers #14:  "Fear Itself" so far has felt more like the ham-fisted attempt by Marvel to take advantage of the "Captain America" and "Thor" movies that it is than a creative way to introduce change into the Marvel Universe that it could have been.  Fraction and Bendis are giving us a pastiche of previously-used tropes here, with a villain whose existence had been deleted from collective memory (the God of Fear here, similar to the Sentry in "Siege"), destroyed landmarks (the Capitol Building and Avengers Tower, just like Asgard in "Siege"), and a major death (seemingly Bucky-Cap, similar to Nightcrawler and Cable in "Messiah Complex").  The result is that no story with "Fear Itself" plastered on it has felt remotely original and this issue is no exception.  From a structural point of view, Bendis gives us the interesting multiple-narrative technique from last issue, but negates its impact with yet another dialogue-less action sequence meant to convey import, which it would do if Bendis didn't seem to use it every other issue.  From a plot point of view, I'm not entirely sure what Bendis is doing with Red Hulk here.  He added the Red Hulk to the roster during the Infinity Gauntlet cross-over.  But, since Bendis was moving so many characters through the title at that point, we've never really seen the Red Hulk as part of the specific Avengers team displayed in "Avengers."  However, before we ever got a chance to see that, Bendis (more or less literally) discards him here, if Jarvis' comments are to be believed.  Regarding Avengers Tower, I'm assuming that Fraction and Bendis have the Thing destroy Avengers Towers in order to set up him leaving the Avengers in guilt after "Fear Itself."  I've never really bought his participation in the Avengers and, with Spidey joining the FF, it seems ridiculous to have half that team on the Avengers.  At this point, I can't say I particularly care about either the Red Hulk or the Avengers Tower development.  Increasingly, I just want to see "Fear Itself" end so we can adjust to the new status quo and start the process of forgetting it.

Captain America #619:  OK, honestly?  I have no idea what's going down in "Captain America" right now.  We get a pretty satisfying ending to "Gulag."  Brubaker didn't wrap up all the loose ends; for example, we never (as far as I can tell) really get the truth about the two KGB agents Bucky assassinated during the Cold War, the whole reason he's imprisoned by Russia in the first place.  Also, given the fact that he's a fugitive when this issue ends, it's unclear to me how he suddenly appears in his uniform in "Fear Itself" #3.  But, even if it's not a technically-satisfying ending, it's an emotionally-satisfying one.  Bucky "remembers" training a series of super-soldier sleeper agents in America during the Cold War, and it inspires him to start hunting down the demons from his time as the Winter Soldier.  You can tell he's found the path to putting the Winter Soldier behind him and it's exciting to see him ready to embark on that journey.  He has a great moment with Natasha as they're fleeing, and it helps to contribute to the sense of awesome that you assume is coming.  I mean, could you ask for a better premise for a post-Cap, Bucky-focused book?  We'd get Steve as Cap and Bucky as Bourne.  Cool, cool, cool.  If you're not following "Fear Itself," I think you'd totally assume it's where Marvel is going.  Instead, if you are (unfortunately for you) following "Fear Itself," you know that we've apparently killed off Bucky.  Steve is going to take up the shield in a new "Captain America" series and "Captain America" is becoming "Captain America and Bucky," a series about the duo's early days.  I can't complain too much about the latter, because I did after all ask for it in my review of "Captain America" #616.  But, I can't help but feel like Marvel has squandered a long-term opportunity with Bucky for the short-term goal of making "Fear Itself" "mean something" by having a "significant death."  I mean, Nightcrawler was never going to have his own series, so his death in "Messiah Complex" didn't really affect anything too much.  But, Bucky was popular, from what I can tell.  I think someone (not even necessarily Brubaker) could've really done something with him.  So, despite "Gulag" bringing Bucky's emotional journey, which started with the "Trial of Captain America" almost a year ago, full circle, I finished this issue feeling disappointed.  We're not going to see Bucky next month (except for his teenaged version).  We're not going to get a chance to see him rise through the ranks of Marvel's superheroes, to become a hero fully in his own right.  This whole, great era of "Captain America" -- one of the best I've ever read -- is going to be left behind and eventually fade into a distant memory.  Marvel made a bad decision here and I find myself hoping against hope someone'll change it. 

Fear Itself:  The Home Front #3:  The Speedball story is...whatever, you know what, I'm tired of pretending anymore.  This whole "Fear Itself" story is a debacle.  It's like a super-villain whose power is to make everything it touches suck.  The Speedball story, which showed at least some promise, totally goes predictable and schlocky here.  I still have no idea who John Atlas is, nor do I care.  The "Moment with..." story is bizarre, and the best fourth story this issue manages is one about a fourth-rate Spider-Man villain I didn't like 15 years ago when he first appeared.  The only reason I keep getting this series at this point is that I'm anal-retentive and I know, ten years from now, if I had a little money left at the end of the pay period, I'd wind up buying the rest of the issues just to complete the set. 

Fear Itself:  Youth in Revolt #2:  We don't get a lot of Prodigy in this issue, which is a shame, because he was essentially why I liked the first issue of this series.  Instead, the main story is focused on (ridiculously-named) Thor Girl, who has been incarcerated as a result of her involvement in the death of a police officer.  She's tortured by shadowy figures with an unclear agenda, the first time in any of the "Fear Itself" books we've been given a bad guy other than the Serpent and the Worthy, which makes me wonder where that sub-plot is going.  Elsewhere, the various Initiative teams are doing their best to maintain order.  One of the interesting parts of this series so far is its depiction of reluctant heroes:  Cloud 9 originally sat out the battle and Gravity quits halfway through it.  We all know, intellectually, that some people born with super-powers aren't necessarily born with a desire to use them, and it's interesting to see what McKeever does here in terms of showing that.

Secret Avengers #14:  This issue is beautiful.  I didn't necessarily buy it at first.  I didn't really see where a story only involving Valkyrie was going.  In fact, I'm still not entirely sure who Valkyrie is and why she suddenly appeared after "Siege."  I thought she was a mortal but it appears she isn't.  I can't say I'm really all that invested in her character, or at least enough to go rummage through back issues of "Secret Avengers" to see how she's previously been portrayed.  However, Spencer gives us a beautiful story here about how she became who she is, and he weaves it equally flawlessly into the main story.  It's one of the better "Fear Itself" tie-in issues I've read.

New Comics! (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Batman Beyond #5:  OK, so, one of the challenges of reading this series is that, except what I gleaned from watching a few episodes of the TV show, I really know next to nothing about the universe of "Batman Beyond."  My guess is that I'm supposed to know who the villain on the last page of the issue was, why Dana's brother was in prison (and why his creepy comment about being glad to have returned was so ominous), and who exactly Paxton Powers is/was.  However, I don't know any of those things.  I'm tempted to do a bunch of Internet research, but I think I'll wind up just being confused, since it's still unclear what elements of previous "Batman Beyond" works -- from the TV show to the previous comics -- Beechen is using.  However, despite not entirely following all the ins-and-outs, I still thoroughly enjoyed this issue.  Beechen has a great ear for dialogue, and he gives us a really great version of a cranky Bruce Wayne.  I hope he gives us some background next issue without falling too far on the "super-villain explaining his grand plan while our hero is perched precariously over a ravine" side of such divides.  At any rate, I'm excited to see where this plot goes. 

Dark Sun #4:  Our rag-tag team of (sort-of) heroes gets one more step closer to the Tomb of Ianto in this issue.  Over all, it's a pretty solid issue, with Irvine doing a particularly great job of quietly building the suspense for the first few pages as the team makes it way through the too quiet tombs.  However, a lot of the details of the world are unclear to me, and we're far enough into the series that it's becoming distracting.  For example, Rubi tells us that she can sense Haskyr, since he's a fellow member of the Veiled Alliance; but, when we first met them in issue #2, they appeared to be unaware of the other's connection to the Alliance.  Can members only sense other members when they're revealed?  Moreover, the only real information we've gotten on the Veiled Alliance is in the recap page (paging pet peeve #2), which reveals they're an underground group of mages trying to restore Athas to its former glory.  Irvine probably doesn't have enough time to flesh out these details, which is a shame.  The biggest drawback to the issue itself is the art.  I normally like Bergting's pencils, but it feels a little rushed in this issue.  At times, it was hard to tell who was saying what to whom and the action sequences were somewhat confusing to follow.  The last page, however, is great, thanks to Ronda Pattison's colors; after four issues of a coloring us a bleak, desolate world, we suddenly get a light, green vista, and you realize how much restraint we've seen on the colors over the course of the series.  I'll be sad to see the series end next issue, just as we're seeing some hope sprouting in this really sad world. 

Dark Sun #5:  I'm sad to see this series end.  I feel like Irvine has left us with enough material for a bang-up ongoing series.  First, he leaves several mysteries unresolved here, almost all of them dealing with Rubi and the Veiled Alliance.  When she first appears in issue #2, she doesn't seem to understand the important of the amulet she gave to Grudvik and can't tell that Haskyr is a fellow member of the Alliance.  However, in this issue, it's clear that she's known much more than she's let the others think.  For example, she knows that Ianto's tomb holds something called Ianto's seed.  If she knew that, I kind of figure she knew the key she gave to Grudvik opened the tomb.  If so, why did she give it him in the first place?  Also, her sudden departure also raises all sorts of questions.  If she could form a portal to leave the tomb, why couldn't she just use that portal to get them into the tomb?  Who's this militia that will be chasing her?  Where is she going?  Second, Grudvik and Aki make a really compelling team, with Grudvik's quiet stoicism and Aki's quick wit.  I hope this title sold well enough for an ongoing series or at least another mini-series.  I'm going to keep it on my pull list just in case something appears one day! 

Fear Itself #2:  OK, this issue is better than the first one, so maybe this series won't be terrible.  Odin brings the Asgardian gods to what appears to be New Asgard, preparing for battle, and the Serpent assembles his warriors, sending them into the world to wreck havoc and spread fear.  Meanwhile, we see the heroes try to get a grip on events as they happen, so they don't really do much this issue, though I'm sure that will change shortly.  I was kind of hard on Odin in the last issue, mostly because I don't read Thor comics so I'm not entirely sure what his deal is.  But, he's a bit more clear here on the fact that the gods will be lucky to survive a war with the Serpent and don't have time to worry about Midgard.  As tempting as it is, I'm trying to keep a handle on my collector obsessivism, because I really have no desire to spend hundreds of dollars chasing down all the tie-in issues, particularly since Marvel did such a poor job of making them count in "Chaos War."  But, it would be useful if Marvel produced some sort of "core book" reading list.  At any rate, I can't say it's worth $3.99 an issue, but at least it's not terrible so far.  (How's that for a back-handed compliment?) 

Fear Itself:  The Home Front #2:  This issue is pretty forgettable, if not downright bad.  The Speedball story is OK, but, unless Gage really throws us for a loop, it seems pretty clear that Ms. Sharpe is going to come to an understanding about Speedball by the end of this story.  We'll probably all hug.  It's just starting to seem a little pat, and we're only two issues into the storyline.  Otherwise, it's fine.  Just like last issue, Gage adroitly presents the anxiety and fear that I imagine regular people would feel in a world of super-humans.  We don't get an insight into those feelings often, and Gage does a really great job with them.  The other stories are actually pretty terrible.  I still have no idea how Jimmy Woo and his "Agents of Atlas" are.  The story is basically a post-script to events we originally saw in the "Fear Itself" prelude, where the Red Skrull attempts to track down Skadi's hammer.  The dialogue is awful, the characters are wooden, and the plot seems irrelevant.  We then have a one-page "Purple Man" story (again, who?) that left me confused, which, really, given that it's a one-page story, is an accomplishment.  Finally, we have a totally random story about Liz Allan, Harry Osborn's ex-wife, that seems to screw up continuity, since Liz says they just visited Harry in New York, but I'm pretty sure Harry fled New York after the events of the "Origin of the Species" arc in "Amazing Spider-Man."  If next month's issue is as irrelevant and predictable as this month's, I'm pretty sure I'm canceling this series and saving myself $3.99 a month. 

X-Men Legacy #248 (Age of X Epilogue):  This issue actually clears up some questions left lingering from "Age of X," particularly who Revenant (aka Phoenix) was.  We learn here it was Rachel Summers, who got caught in the event while trying to connect with Professor X telepathically, inadvertently rendering her mind separate from her body.  I was excited to see Rachel here.  Havok and Marvel Girl are two of my favorite X-Men, reminding me of the awesome issues in the early and mid-200s from my youth.  They've been gone WAY too long and, hopefully, this issue sets in motion their return.  Carey cleverly uses "Age of X" to move along some long-stalled plots here, such as giving Legion more control over his powers (again) and addressing Gambit and Rogue's relationship problems (which I feel like have just been left to linger for a long, long time).  I'm hopeful that we actually get to see Legion start on the road of playing a role as something other than his usual "greatest mutant threat alive."  Also, I'm sure the psychological effects on the X-Men of "Age of X" are going to be totally forgotten soon, but it's interesting seeing Carey not completely ignore them immediately.  I still find Carey's writing somewhat...overwrought, making "X-Men Legacy" a book that I read more from obligation than enjoyment.  But, even if I don't exactly emotionally connect with his characters here the way I do with Gillen's in "Uncanny," Carey definitely does some interesting things here.  I actually find myself anticipating the next issue for the first time, possibly ever, in this title.

New Comics!: The Capes Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Detective Comics #875:  Snyder tells a great story here.  The only off-note is the exposition-y confession by Roy Blount at the end.  But, the best part is that, even with that confession, Snyder still leaves it unclear if James Gordon, Jr. is a killer or not.  Although we're presented reasonable alternative explanations for why Betsy went missing and why the birds in the aviary could've been freed, we're not actually sure at the end of the issue if those explanations are true.  Snyder may be in the process of creating the next Joker here, but, if James stays true to form, we may never know for sure. 

Fear Itself:  Book of the Skull #1:  OK, I'm intrigued.  You know you're dealing with a nut job when Baron Zemo thinks s/he's insane, as we see here in his reaction to Sin.  This issue serves as a prologue to the Fear Itself cross-over event.  After "Chaos War," I was a little skeptical that this event could be anything even remotely interesting, but Brubaker piques my interest here.  The issue has an Indiana Jones feel to it, with the flashbacks to the Red Skull trying to find a mystical device for the Nazis to use to defeat the Allies (and, natch, Bucky, Cap, and Namor trying to stop him).  The hammer-in-the-ice conceit is a little too similar to the hammer-in-the-desert conceit they're using for the Thor movie.  But, considering this project was invented explicitly to link Captain America and Thor before this summer's movies, I can't complain too much.  At the very least, this issue was fun to read, which is more than I can say for almost any of the "Chaos War" books! 

Fear Itself #1:  Fraction sets the stage here by showing us a riot in New York (seemingly between the two opposing sides of the "Ground Zero Mosque" controversy), using it to show the tensions and divisions that exist in contemporary American society, clearly a theme of the series.  We see Sin become the avatar for Skadi (I'm not sure who that is), who then resurrects the Serpent (I'm also not sure who he is, though he calls himself the "All-Father").  The resurrections freak out Odin, who appears to be alive again (and totally ass-nut crazy).  Odin calls all the Norse gods to follow him to Asgard (which appears not to be the destroyed city sitting in a wheat field outside Broxon, Oklahoma, but an island floating in space), while the Serpent calls forth his "Worthy."  I'm willing to give Fraction some leeway here in setting up the parameters of the book, but this issue isn't really all that good on its own.  I mean, it's fine, but we certainly don't see a catalyzing event like the destruction of Stamford in "Civil War."  It's a pretty slow-paced book, with the most notable event being the departure of the Norse gods, which, frankly, felt kind of anti-climatic to me.  We'll see where it all goes. 

Fear Itself:  The Home Front #1:  The Speedball story in this issue is the best.  I found myself annoyed by the Twitter commentary at the start of the story, but then I realized it's exactly what Gage wanted.  Gage really captures that feeling you get when you read ignorant comments posted by angry people on websites, the type of comments that make you to realize that you're sitting at your computer with balled fists because some jackwad has hijacked a thread about the new "Green Lantern" movie to complain about fascists/communists. This sort of universal sense of anger and frustration seems to be at the core of the "Fear Itself" storyline and I feel like Gage actually captures it better here than Fraction did in "Fear Itself" #1.  Plus, just like "Uncanny X-Men" #534.1, I'm glad to see someone portraying the repercussions of one of those city-destroying events we so often see in the Marvel Universe.  The other stories, to be honest, are pretty disposable. 

Uncanny X-Men #534.1:  So far, I've been really impressed with these .1 issues.  Although a little gimmicky, both the "Captain America" issue and this one really accomplish the goal of introducing a new reader to new characters but also giving older readers a great story.  Magneto's interaction with Kate Kildare, the X-Men's public-relations specialist, is classic.  From her first appearance, I thought the idea of a public-relations person for the X-Men was clever, and Gillen really makes the concept meet its potential.  Kate proves a competent sparring partner for Magneto (which is saying a lot), so much so that I wonder if Gillen himself didn't work in public relations.  It's clear with this issue, Gillen's first without Fraction, that the improvement of "Uncanny X-Men" over the last few issues has been thanks to his addition to the title, so I'm excited to see what's in store over the next few months.  I also appreciate him mentioning Magneto's actions in New York.  As I mention above, so many cities in America have been wantonly destroyed and quickly forgotten over the years (Kang killing everyone in Washington, DC in "Avengers," Bucky annihilating part of Philadelphia in "Captain America") that I appreciate a writer who takes continuity seriously.  Two enthusiastic thumbs up, Mr. Gillen.